Rescuing Indian snakes

[Guest guest]

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http://www.tehelka.com/story_main39.asp?filename=Op170508snake_whisperer.asp

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*Snake Whisperer*

 

*Despite their many benefits, snakes are killed indiscriminately*

 

*RAHUL ALVARES

**Is a wildlife consultant in Goa*

 

PEOPLE CALL ME a " snake rescuer " and I've always considered the term in its

literal sense: I rescue snakes from people. Human beings are much bigger,

stronger, far more intelligent, armed with opposable thumbs and able to

wield weapons like rakes, bats, coconut palms and choppers with ease —

enough to smash a legless reptile. Venomous though a cobra may be, it does

not stand a chance against humans.

 

Over the last few decades we've added to our munitions, deadly chemical

weapons like Baygon sprays, toilet acid and other insecticides. When humans

do get hit back, we have an efficient antidote in snake antivenin, which can

save our lives. Snakes have no such defence against humans. So when I do

pull out a massive cobra from under someone's bed, I do not flatter myself

with the thought that I've rescued a fellow human being, but am convinced

that I saved the snake: it is always the snake rather than the human who is

in real danger. So why are people so insensitive towards snakes? The answer

may lie in another question — why do snake rescuers care so much for snakes?

 

Like most people, I consider myself a fairly decent guy. I live and let

live. The only difference between me and most " normal " human beings is that

I've taken the trouble to understand snakes. When I pull out a hissing cobra

from under someone's bed, I can see fear in its eyes: the snake is sorry for

having made the mistake of entering a human habitat, harmless — even

beneficial — though its intentions may be. Behind the grand façade of the

cobra's signature hood, I see a terrified reptile pretending to strike at

me, but taking care to miss. I see a snake that only wants out and I feel

really bad when humans don't give them the opportunity.

 

My mother tells me that I was chasing snakes even before I learnt to walk.

When people ask: " Why snakes? " , I can only say: " Why collect stamps? "

Certain interests are inborn and while I don't expect everyone to love

snakes, I do think that we need to understand a few basic facts in order to

seek a peaceful coexistence with them.

 

Most people do not know that of the 275 species of snakes found in India

only four are a threat to humans. People believe that a bite from a cobra

means sure death in a few minutes when the fact is, a sure cure awaits

snakebite victims in every Indian hospital. Even if you took two hours to

get there, you'd be quite safe provided you stayed calm.

 

After I have rescued a snake, I try to familiarise my clients with the

creatures. I tell them that cobras don't eat people, they eat other snakes.

I try to explain that if it weren't for snakes, this country would be

overrun by rodents and a host of harmful insects that form the staple diet

of younger snakes. The Guinness Book of World Records rates the rat " the

most dangerous small mammal in the world " — they carry more than 20

pathogens including the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, leptospirosis,

lassa fever and rat bite fever, all of which can be fatal. " Snakes regularly

take these guys out, " I tell people. Yet, rats don't generate even a small

percentage of the hostility that snakes do.

 

It is an established fact that snakes provide an excellent natural pest

control service for humans and cobra venom has been used for years as a

strong analgesic (more effective than morphine). Now major research is being

done on more uses for snake venom in medicine, including treatment for

cancer, strokes and Alzheimer's.

 

Fortunately, snakes in India don't face the threat of extinction. In Goa, 30

or 40 snake rescuers pick up cobras in cities like Panjim and Margao; the

Indian Rock python (a protected species under the Wildlife Act) thrives in

cities, thanks to all the garbage, which breeds big bandicoots, which these

snakes eat.

 

For every snake spotted by a human, there are probably ten more hiding

somewhere, minding their own business. The real cause for concern, though,

is apathy — people kill snakes just because they are there. In the wild, for

one animal to survive, often, another has to die. If a tribal living in a

forest or a bird of prey kills a snake to eat it, that's fine. But when

people thrash snakes for no reason at all, it makes me worry for humanity

and wonder about our morality. We all know that it is wrong to kill. But the

truth is that what prevents most of us from committing serious crimes is the

threat of punishment. Every snake in India is protected by the law, yet

people kill snakes with impunity because no one ever gets charged or

prosecuted.

 

Children are more open and sensitive and are much better listeners, which is

why I'm always much more interested in talking to them about snakes. A child

brought up completely alienated from nature will grow into an adult with

absolutely no understanding of the environment and its functioning. Yet, our

schools and colleges do not provide even basic lessons in wildlife. And

sadly, our educators still haven't realised that understanding the wild

creatures with which we share the planet is more crucial to our survival

than calculus or integral mathematics.

*From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 19, Dated May 17, 2008*